Quercetin and Hydroxytyrosol as modulators of hepatic steatosis: a
NAFLD-on-a-chip study.
Abstract
Organs-on-chip are increasingly catching on as a promising and valuable
alternative to animal models, in line with the 3Rs initiative, to create
3D tissue microenvironments in which cells behave physiologically and
pathologically at unparalleled precision and complexity. Indeed, these
platforms offer new opportunities to model human diseases and test the
potential therapeutic effect of different drugs as well as their
limitations, overtaking the limited predictive accuracy of conventional
2D culture systems. Here, we present a liver-on-a-chip model to
investigate the effects of two naturally occurring polyphenols, namely
Quercetin and Hydroxytyrosol, on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
(NAFLD) using a method of high-content analysis. NAFLD is currently the
most common form of chronic liver disease, whose complex pathogenesis is
far from being clear. Besides, no definitive treatment has been
established for NAFLD so far. In our experiments, we observed that both
polyphenols seem to restrain the progression of the free fatty
acid-induced hepatocellular steatosis, showing a cytoprotective effect
due to their antioxidant properties. In conclusion, the resulting
insights of the present work could guide novel strategies to contrast
the onset and progression of NAFLD.